


Better Luck Next Time

by ronans



Series: tumblr elu prompts [5]
Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Arcades, First Meetings, M/M, One Shot, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 10:04:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronans/pseuds/ronans
Summary: It could be something to do with the beanie on his head. Maybe it’s the leather jacket with slender hands firmly tucked away in the pockets. Maybe it’s the flashing neon lights from the pinball machine flicking across the planes of his face. Lucas has to go over.Prompts: "Aw, you're so cute." & "I'm not playing truth or dare."





	Better Luck Next Time

Despite the clouds threatening to burst any moment, Mika had still insisted they stick to their flatshare-bonding-day-out plans.

_‘Lucas, we’ve been planning this for weeks, you can’t back out now.’_

So Lucas has found himself squished between Manon and Mika at the back of a bus, covering his ears as they loudly discuss the last episode of a show they’d been binge watching over the weekend. He lolls his head back against the seat and shuts his eyes. If he’s honest, he’s still a little hungover from the night before.

‘If you’re going to mope all day, I’ll just throw you off the bus now,’ Mika finally directs at him.

Lucas heaves out a sigh and slumps forward, resting his elbows on his knees. ‘How come Lisa got out of this?’

‘Because she clearly needs her beauty sleep,’ Mika replies. Manon reaches over to slap Mika’s chest with the back of her hand. She leans back again and brushes a strand of hair out of Lucas’ eyes. He softens under the gesture.

‘This is gonna be fun,’ Manon insists. ‘Hey, I’ll even win you a stuffed toy.’

‘Not if I win you one first.’

Manon beams and holds out her hand for Lucas to shake. ‘Deal.’

***

The string of lights pinned along the roof at the entrance of the pier flicker ominously under the cloud cover. Lucas takes note that more than half of the bulbs had exploded and the rest looked to be on their way out shortly.

The gloom follows him into the arcade. It’s all dark and glimpses of harsh neon, children screaming and coins rustling. Lucas absentmindedly runs his fingertips along the rim of a grabber machine and drags his feet as he trails behind Mika and Manon.

‘Lucas, there’s a carousel outside!’ Mika says, grabbing onto Lucas’ upper arm.

‘I’m not going on it.’

Mika reels back over-dramatically and fixes him with a glare. ‘And why ever not?’

Lucas doesn’t exactly want to tell him he gets motion sickness on a damn kid’s ride, so he racks his brain for a different excuse. ‘I just don’t want to.’ _Solid_.

‘He’s worried the horses will be prettier than him,’ Manon coos. He scoffs and ruffles her hair.

‘Finally someone gets it.’

‘Well, fine. You can hang back here then, Gorgeous, Manon and I are going on it before it starts raining.’

Lucas watches as Mika drags Manon by the hand through the arcade. He sighs again and scans over the different technicolour equipment.

It kind of makes his head hurt, all the bright lights and oppressive air. He uselessly wiggles a joystick on one of the grabber machines and then moves on, already feeling boredom creeping in without Mika’s high energy to distract him.

And then he sees him.

It could be something to do with the beanie on his head. Maybe it’s the leather jacket with slender hands firmly tucked away in the pockets. Maybe it’s the flashing neon lights from the pinball machine flicking across the planes of his face. Lucas has to go over.

He hovers to the right of the man, raking his eyes over his profile, yet still trying to be subtle about it. He’s staring at the glass casing intensely, his eye colour indiscernible.

‘You never really win anything with these,’ the stranger comments, unprompted. Lucas starts at the sound of his voice; he hadn’t even thought he’d noticed him.

He stares, wide-eyed, at the side of the man’s face as he sniffs and deftly slips a coin into the machine.

_Ready?!_ a goofy, cartoonish voice yells, lights flashing aggressively. Lucas notes that the corner of the man’s mouth twitches, a barely-there smile. Lucas finds himself smiling along with him.

_Let’s go!_

He can imagine the flex of the man’s biceps under all that material as he jerks the handles roughly. He’d never thought of pinball as an art form before, but here he is, watching the intricacies of the man’s expressions as he plays in awe. A little crease between the brows- _nice shot!_\- a quirk downwards of the lip- _that was close!_\- a frustrated squint- _better luck next time!_

The machine coughs out one solitary token and it floats pathetically to the floor. He takes a deep breath.

‘I didn’t know someone could suck at pinball this badly.’ It’s out of his mouth in a light, breezy murmur.

‘Ha!’ He really pronounces it, a proper _ha!_ ‘I’d like to see you beat me.’

Lucas draws his bottom lip in and raises his eyebrows. ‘Oh yeah?’

The man bathes Lucas in a sunshine grin and nods. A pause filled with teasing suspense. ‘But I bet you can’t.’

‘Move aside,’ Lucas laughs, almost tripping over his own feet as he slides past the guy to plant himself in front of the machine. He shoves his hand in his pocket and rummages around for a coin. A wrinkled old receipt falls out as he pulls out the money.

‘Ah, wait.’

Lucas is left completely stunned as the man wraps his slim fingers around his wrist and draws the coin towards his lips. Keeping eye contact with Lucas the entire time, he presses a slow, gentle kiss to the metal and then releases him. The man’s bright grin returns and he shrugs.

‘For luck; I think you have an unfair disadvantage considering I’m clearly the king of pinball.’

Lucas’ jaw clicks shut and he rolls his eyes. ‘You’re out of your mind.’

‘Maybe I am,’ he replies, voice husky.

Lucas purses his lips and then quietly starts the game.

_Let’s go!_

Lucas lets out a little involuntary grunt.

_Yes!_

_Oh no! Better luck next time!_

The descending 8-bit tune announces his failure, synthetic colours zipping up and down the glass before they settle back into demo mode.

‘I… suck worse than you,’ he huffs after a beat.

‘I didn’t dare say it,’ the man responds, lips then pressing together tightly to hide a smile.

Lucas feigns offence and crosses his arms, lightly kicking at the leg of the machine. ‘I’m better at Pac-Man. Rematch?’

‘Instead of a rematch-‘ he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out an insanely long string of tickets, ‘-maybe we should go get our prize.’

‘That many tickets and your awful gaming skills…? Have you just been here for the last seven years?’

The man barks out a laugh and shakes his head. ‘I wish. No, see over there?’

He’s suddenly very close, breath falling against the back of Lucas’ neck and arm practically leaning on his shoulder as he points. Lucas swallows and lets his eyes wander. There’s a beaten up basketball hoop style game, all peeling paint and splintered wood. He’s even closer now.

‘If you knock on the side of the dispenser just right…’ Lucas goes crosseyed as the man dangles the tickets in front of him. The guy’s basically hugging him from behind at this point and Lucas wonders what it feels like to be able to breathe.

Suddenly, the man’s warmth is gone. When Lucas swivels around, he’s got this soft smile on his lips and his eyes seem to be drinking in every inch of Lucas’ face.

‘Wait here.’

He barely has time to blink before the man’s slipped out of sight behind the machine. Lucas picks at a loose thread on the cuff of his hoodie sleeve and bites the inside of his cheek. He can’t help but beam a little, an unfamiliar swirling feeling filling him up.

When the other man returns, he thrusts an overflowing cup of gummy worms under Lucas’ nose and waits for him to unravel one.

‘Thanks.’

‘What are you going to call yours?’

Lucas frowns and looks up at the other man. ‘What?’

He threads a red and orange worm through his fingers, considering it, before smirking. ‘I’m calling mine Eliott.’ He glances up at Lucas expectantly, and it takes Lucas a fair bit of time to catch on to what he’s really asking.

‘Lucas.’

‘Maybe this is sadistic,’ Eliott says, twirling the sweet in front of his eyes. ‘…Lucas.’

He attempts not to think about how smooth his name sounds when Eliott’s the one saying it.

Eliott’s whole face scrunches up as he rips the head off the gummy worm with his teeth.

‘Don’t strain yourself,’ Lucas says instead of _you look adorable_.

Eliott’s face stays screwed up. ‘I think these are stale.’

‘No? Confectionary at a pier? _Stale?_’

Eliott titters as he chews, watching Lucas’ mouth as he finally takes a bite. He grimaces and barely refrains from spitting it out.

‘Would you like to come for a walk with me, Lucas?’

He says it so softly, Lucas almost doesn’t catch it. He’s about to answer way too quickly with an emphatic yes, but he stops himself with a groan.

‘I can’t… my roommates are here with me, I cant leave them.’

Eliott remains unbothered, discarding the pot of candy on top of the pinball machine and grabbing Lucas’ hand instead. ‘Well, we can walk to the end of the pier, no?’

Lucas looks up at Eliott through his lashes and smiles, squeezing his fingers. ‘Lead the way.’

He’s shocked at himself, honestly, at how easily he allows himself to follow Eliott. But something about him draws Lucas in and he can’t seem to stop. They weave through the endless rows of arcade games, the soles of their shoes sticking to the soda soaked flooring. Lucas watches Eliott’s hat slip slightly, unruly brown hair daring to escape.

‘After you,’ Eliott says sunnily, dropping Lucas’ hand to hold the door open. He feels a little sore when Eliott doesn’t retake his hand, but he hastily buries the feeling.

It’s raining when they get outside. The wooden boards creak beneath them and the sound of the waves crashing below unsettles Lucas as much as it calms him.

Eliott guides them to the railings at the side of the boardwalk and rests his elbows on the cool metal, jerking his head slightly for Lucas to join him.

Lucas breathes in the salt air and tips his head back. He closes his eyes against the rain and barely flinches whenever a drop lands on his eyelids.

‘You look very peaceful.’

His eyes snap open and a blush threatens to spread across his cheekbones. Lucas dips his head- chin against chest- and grips the rail until his knuckles go white. ‘I like the rain.’

‘Me too,’ Eliott whispers.

Lucas closes his eyes again and smiles leisurely before turning around so his lower back’s pressed against the railing instead. Slowly, Eliott mirrors him. Their fingers almost touch again.

They silently watch the carousel across from them spin, a slightly distorted lullaby playing. Thankfully, Manon and Mika seem to have moved on, most likely inside hiding from the gentle downpour. Lucas isn’t sure how he would have coped if Mika had been given the chance to grill Eliott, nor with the aftermath back at the apartment.

‘Your eyes are the same colour as the sea,’ Eliott says matter-of-factly, breaking through the melody of the waves.

Lucas coughs and pulls his damp hoodie sleeves over his hands. ‘Yeah?’

Eliott tilts his head down, trying to catch Lucas’ gaze. ‘Hmm…’

Lucas eventually glances up. Eliott’s eyes are grey, possibly blue. ‘What?’

‘No, I think they’re prettier than the sea.’

‘That’s-‘ He cuts himself off, attempting to school his tone. Eliott doesn’t need to know his cheesy comment made him this flustered. ‘I-‘

‘Aw, you’re so cute.’

_Too late._

Lucas slaps his covered hands over his face and huffs into the fabric. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘You could tell me my eyes look like rocks and then we can laugh and move on.’

Lucas gradually draws his hands away from his face and stares at Eliott, mouth hanging open in what he can just tell is probably a pretty unattractive smile. There’s definitely a glimmer of amusement on Eliott’s features, but other than that Lucas can’t quite read him. He presses his elbow against Eliott’s and then moves his gaze back to the carousel.

‘Your eyes don’t look like rocks.’

Eliott laughs through his nose and cautiously leans into Lucas’ touch. Another silence settles between them, but it’s not uncomfortable. Lucas feels like he’s burning from the inside out, Eliott’s voice bouncing around his head. _He’d really called him cute_.

‘Your hair’s getting wet.’

‘Do I look like I care about my hair?’ Lucas grumbles without missing a beat, even as he reaches to pull his hood up.

‘Truth: do you care about your hair?’

Lucas side-eyes Eliott. ‘I’m not playing truth or dare.’

‘Okay…’ He squints over at the carousel for a moment before snickering under his breath. ‘Forfeit… I dare you to tell me something you _do_ care about.’

Lucas stares openly at the side of Eliott’s face. He’s got this big, triumphant grin on his lips but his eyes are still on the ride. ‘Have you ever played truth or dare before? You can’t just dare me to tell you a truth.’

‘Loophole,’ Eliott says with a shrug. He moves his head to the side and peers at Lucas with a more muted half-grin. ‘So? You’re playing now?’

He exhales slowly, amused. ‘I think you’re cheating.’

‘It’s made you smile though. Worth it.’

‘Fine!’ Lucas concedes, wrapping his arms around his midsection. ‘I care about…’

Eliott waits patiently for his response, one eyebrow lifted.

Lucas pouts and moves the tip of his shoe side to side, following the wood grains below his feet.

‘My friends?’

‘Your friends,’ Eliott repeats with a slow nod.

Lucas sighs and looks at him again. ‘What’s wrong with that?’

‘Nothing.’ He raises his hands in placation.

‘Were you expecting something more profound?’ Lucas teases.

‘Possibly,’ Eliott hums. Lucas jostles him with his elbow. ‘It’s your turn.’

‘Which rules are we using? The actual ones or your made up ones?’

Eliott’s eyes crinkle when he beams. ‘Obviously mine are better.’

‘Alright…’ He searches his brain for a question. For some reason there’s a nervous buzz running through his body and the air’s shifted. The rain picks up. He drops it. ‘I have two options for you.’

‘That wasn’t one of my rules,’ Eliott throws back.

‘Shut up,’ Lucas laughs, hugging himself tighter. ‘Truth: do you want to go back inside? Or, I dare you to take me inside.’

Eliott lets out a beautiful chuckle in response and Lucas forgets for a second about the cold. ‘I’ll take you back inside after my turn, I promise.’

‘I need to start writing these new rules down,’ Lucas mumbles.

Eliott grins and pushes himself off the railing. He moves to stand in front of Lucas, and from his still slouched position, the other man towers over him.

‘Lucas… Martin?’

Lucas titters and shakes his head. ‘_What?_’

‘From the look on your face I’m guessing that’s not your surname.’

‘It’s Lallemant,’ Lucas replies, rolling his eyes fondly.

Eliott nods and clears his throat. ‘I was close.’

‘Very close,’ Lucas says through a smile.

Eliott composes himself, a serious expression on his face. Lucas can see the mirth in his eyes though. ‘Lucas Lallemant, I dare you to make this a date.’

All the breath gets sucked out of him and he’s suddenly very appreciative of the sturdy pole behind him holding him up.

He looks down. Then up. Breathes in. Then speaks.

‘Give me your hand.’

**Author's Note:**

> i literally spent an hour looking for lyrics for the title......... and couldn't find anything that fit so here we are with another bad title. this is in _no way_ embarrassing.  
huge thank you to feathered-minds for getting me through my writer's block with this one<3  
[tumblr](http://cheloueliott.tumblr.com)


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